On Sep 5, the 10th Salang Carnival and the Autumn Qiang Mountain Hiking Season officially kicked off at Jiuhuangshan Scenic Area, with festivities scheduled to run through Oct 31. During this period, a series of featured events will be held in rotation, including intangible cultural heritage folk performances, immersive interactive experiences showcasing Qiang ethnic culture, and wilderness hiking trails, creating a vibrant and jubilant festival atmosphere throughout the scenic area.

Nighttime Experience

As a representative item of the Qiang ethnic group's intangible cultural heritage, Salang embodies the cherished aspirations of celebrating harvests and praying for blessings and good fortune. This year's carnival focuses on the dynamic inheritance of intangible cultural heritage by innovatively creating immersive folk experience settings. Concurrently, the 2026 Autumn Qiang Mountain Hiking Season was launched on the same day, featuring two distinctive routes, A and B, which cater to leisurely strolls and advanced wilderness trekking respectively, accommodating visitors with varying preferences.

During the daytime, events such as white stone blessing ceremonies, Qiang wedding reenactments, and live-action situational dramas take center stage in succession, interspersed with cultural parades winding through the venue. Visitors can participate in blessing rituals, live performances, and folk-themed challenge games, gaining an up-close understanding of Qiang history through interaction. These activities bring ancient intangible cultural heritage out of exhibition halls, transforming it into a vivid cultural tourism experience that is accessible and engaging for all.

Folk Custom Performances

Numerous hiking enthusiasts traverse forest boardwalks to enjoy the autumn scenery, and finishers receive limited-edition autumn medals as commemorative souvenirs. This event integrates outdoor sports, natural sightseeing, and Qiang ethnic cultural creativity, further enriching the supply of autumn cultural tourism products at the scenic area. The site bustles with crowds, and cheerful laughter echoes through the streets and alleys of the Qiang village.

As night falls, the newly upgraded Salang gala brings the festive atmosphere to its peak. A solemn bonfire blessing and lighting ceremony commences, accompanied by spectacular performances of the intangible cultural heritage fire pot dance and distinctive Qiang dance shows. Visitors and local Qiang residents join hands in circles to sing and dance, blending traditional Qiang melodies with contemporary music. Fun interactive activities, such as sipping wine challenges, follow one after another, fully demonstrating the vigorous vitality of Qiang intangible cultural heritage in the modern era.

The scenic area will continue to roll out diverse folk performances and themed events, presenting a high-quality cultural tourism feast of the Qiang mountains for visitors from Sichuan, Chongqing, and across the country.

【本文部分内容由AI辅助生成，特此声明。The author(s) generated part of the content in this work with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), which is hereby declared.】